A Time To Pause

Exodus 18:12-23

Message No. 0804 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

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Sometimes church leaders neglect their own families in the name of serving God, but is this how God wants it? Leaders are so busy that there’s no more any meaningful communication or time spent together with their spouses and children. The enemy often uses this loophole to create family problems to embarrass ministers. In this writing, Kingdom workers are reminded that we are serving God, and God wants us to manage our homes first.

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Many years ago, I watched a movie by a popular christian evangelical ministry, titled ‘Busy, but Guilty.’ In it, a married woman was called to women ministry, and she was ministering both at home and abroad. She spent most nights preparing for one ministration or another, all to the neglect of the husband, who was also a minister, but who could no longer have any time with her. Sometimes she would travel without notifying him, and when they spoke on phone, she would say I miss you, I love you, but all these sweet words did not translate to time spent with him, because when she returned from ministration, she was either too tired or needed to prepare, pray, and fast for the next program. It did not matter how much the husband tried, there was no intimacy between them and there was hardly time to even chat.

One day, she was on a trip abroad, and Jesus appeared to her in her hotel room to deliver judgement. The woman always mounted the pulpit to praise her husband and to tell the congregation how she had always loved him and submitted to him, and to admonish other women to submit to their husbands also. When Jesus confronted her about her lies, she was shocked, but not only that, her family was in crisis back home, and God was intending to call her husband home to avoid him being embarrassed in a scandal the enemy was already planning. It was at this point that the woman understood her faults,  abandoned the remainder of her ministration, and rushed back home.

It is an excellent thing to serve the Lord and to be called to ministry, but we sometimes don’t know when to pause. Many ministers don’t remember that God rested after working for six days. And as we know, God is a Spirit, possessing all powers and abilities, including staying awake all day and all night. He does not need to rest, so He instituted rest to let us know that we need to rest. If we do not come to the knowledge that we are not able to do everything all the time, our lack of understanding may result in ridicule to the work of the Kingdom.

In Exodus chapter 18, Jethro, Moses’ father in law, visited him and also brought his (Moses’) wife and two sons, which he had left behind since the days God called him to go and confront Pharaoh. Throughout the period he was fighting to bring Israel out of slavery, and even after he succeeded and they had crossed the red sea and were well on their way to the Promised Land, Moses did not seem to remember that he had a family. There were no telephones in those days, so it must have been almost impossible to even communicate in any way. I believe that Jethro must have been wondering what was happening to his son in law that he did not look back, so he decided it was time to take his wife and children to him.

When Jethro noticed how busy Moses was, judging all the people from morning to night alone, he knew that at that rate, he would have no time for family, and he may die early from stress and exhaustion. This prompted him to offer him one of the greatest lessons in life, that no man or woman can do it alone. We all need people to help us achieve our goals, even when it is God who gave us the goal. Moses took Jethro’s advise and created a ‘court system’ with layers. When there were disputes among the children of Israel, they would take them to rulers (of ten, fifties, hundreds and thousands) and only the hard matters would come to Moses (he was like the Supreme Court). The recommendation of Jethro was repeated during the time of the early church when the apostles had to appoint leaders who would administer food and other things to the people while they (the apostles) faced prayers and the ministration of the Word of God. 

Are you currently burned out because you are doing more than your physical and spiritual abilities are able to withstand? Are you hardly available for your wife, husband and children? Ministers must not forget that their first assignment is to their families. This is the reason why the qualification criteria for serving in leadership in the Bible always says that people must be able to lead their own households well, otherwise, how would they lead the household of God? The woman in the opening example was busy serving God, but she was guilty before God for neglect. It is not enough to praise our spouses with sweet words on the pulpit, but at home, we hardly communicate. It is not a sin to rest. It is not a sin to go on vacation; the church will not scatter before you come back. Remember it is the Lord’s work, and we are just employees. Examine your own situation; might it be time to take some rest?

What to Do?

Take a break and pay attention to your home. God’s work will not stop.